Pouring tin opener



May 29, 1951 R. E. COURAUD pouamqm 0mm Fnd July 24, 1947 ATTORNEYS Patented May 29, 1951 POURING TIN OPENER Raymond E. Couraud, Becon les Bruyeres, France, assignor to Societe Civile Bemcx, Gusset (Allier) France Application July 24, 1947, Serial No.

In France February 28, 1947 1 Claim.

For the use of certain metallic tins containing preserved foods such as condensed milk tins most users punch the cover in one or two places with various implements such as: knife, punch and the like or they cut out said cover with a tinopener of any kind. After having taken out the desired quantity they leavethe tin open and. the milk is in contact with the outer air till its complete consumption. It is reasonable, therefore, to think that the whole of the precautions which were taken for canning the product, which precautions are necessary, moreover, for insuring the preservation of said product, are progressively destroyed at the moment of its use.

Thus, in spite of its good preservation in closed tins, the product can get spoiled before it is completely consumed. This drawback is still increased through the fact that the product which is poured out is in contact with the external walls of the tin which are more or less clean.

Lastly, the pouring operation is slow and gives rise to trails of the product which stain the tin.

The present invention has for its object to remedy these drawbacks.

The invention relates to a tin-opener, more particularly for liquid foods, characterized by a single member forming both an opening punch and a pouring spout for pouring the content of the tin which makes it possible to take out the content of the tin in a convenient manner and without any losses.

According to one feature of the invention the member forming a punch and a spout is tightly secured to the wall of the tin which makes it possible to pour successive quantities of the content without displacing the tin-opener.

According to a form of execution of the invention the member forming both punch and pouring spout comprises a channel which can be closed by a removable plug which makes it possible to shelter the content of the tin from the air when said member is not used for taking out the content of the tin.

The invention also covers a pouring tin-opener characterized in that the member forming both a punch and a pouring spout is combined with a supporting guide sliding on the punch and able to clamp the edges of the opening made in the tin between said supporting guide and a part of the punch engaged in said tin.

According to one feature of the invention the punch carries at its end a cutting member the outline of which is provided with projections, said punch being able to turn with respect to the supporting guide which makes it possible,

through penetration of the cutting member into the tin, to turn the punch with respect to the supporting guide and thus to insert the projections of the cutting member below the edges of the opening through which said cutting member entered the tin whereby the punch is thus maintained engaged in the tin.

According to another feature of the invention a clamping member makes it possible after the cutting member has been inserted below the edges of the opening made in the wall of the tin to clamp said wall betweenthe cutting member and the supporting guide, thus permitting a strong and tight fastening of the punch on the tin.

Lastly, the invention covers the features which will be described hereunder and their various possible combinations.

Apparatusesmade in accordance with the invention are shown by way of example in the appended drawings, in which:

Figure 1 shows a half-sectional view of the mounted apparatus before the punching operation.

Figure 2 is a half-sectional view of the mounted apparatus after the punching operation.

Figure 3 isa half-sectional view of the mounted apparatus after punching and fastening on the tin.

Figure 4 is a part sectional View and isometric projection showing the hollow punch alone.

Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 show various other forms of cross-sections for the hollow punch.

Figure 9 is an explanatory view showing the cutting member inserted through a turning movement below the edges of the opening.

The apparatus shown in Figure 1 comprises: a hollow punch I of tubular shape externally comprising from one of its ends-a smooth cylindrical surface 2, an externally threaded bearing surface 3, a flange 4, a circular groove 5, a cutting member formed of a terminal plate 6 the outer face of which is inclined and makes an angle B with the plane perpendicular to the axis X-X' of the punch.

Said terminal plate 6 which forms the cutting member comprises a nose I the leading face of which makes an angle a B (Figure 2) with the plane perpendicular to the axis X-X' of the punch, and gradually blends with the outer face of the terminal plate 6. The cutting edge of the nose 1 blends with the edges of said terminal plate 6 which are also formed as cutting edges.

While the hollow punch I offers a generally cylindrical shape the terminal plate 6 offers an outline provided with projections, for example an outline the shape of which is polygonal, i. e.: rectangular (Figure 4), square (Figure 6), triangular (Figure 7) or hexagonal (Figure 8) or an outline comprising peripheral teeth (Figure 9).

A part of the outline can .benon-cutting so that the small piece cut out of the wall of the tin is not separated but only folded over towards the inside of the tin (Figures 2 and 3).

The inner diameter of the circular groove is smaller or'at most equal to the diameter-of the circle inscribed in the terminalplate .6,

The outer diameter of the flange 4. is preferably equal to the diameter of the circle circumscribed to said terminal plate 6.

A supporting guide 8 is in the shapegof .a cap fitted onto said hollow punch I and is ableto strike against the flange 4 of the hollow punch I...

The edge 9 of the supporting-guide 8 carries a washer 10 having. a-deformable diameter and forming atight joint.

The supporting guide offers a.cylindrical shape the inner diameter of which isat least equal to the diameter of the circle circumscribed to the terminal p1ate.6.of the punch.

A plug I2 is fitted onto thesmooth cylindrical surface 2 of the hollow punch .I and screwed .onto the end partof the external thread .3'. This plug I2 carries a mark formednof a dash, va-groove, a notch or an inscription.

The size of each piece. and the length of the externally threaded part 3,are such that when :the plug .I 2 is screwed home onto the hollow punch the end positions of the clamping nut II determine two well defined positions ofthe punch ;l with respect-to the resting surface-of the washer ID.

First position.The clamping -nut rests. onthe one hand, against the edge; of; the-plug ;l 2' and, on the other hand, on the-supportingguide 8. The inner face of the circular groove. 5 is slightly in front of the resting face of the washer Ill (Figure 2).

Second posittom-The clamping nut I2 is screwed home and rests .againstthe supporting guide 8.. The lower face. of: the circular. groove: 5 is slightly sunk with respect to the resting'face ofithe washer 10 (Figure 3)..

The hollow punch I which forms the main piece of .the apparatus is made of amaterial which is harder than the material of the tin, for-example of half-hard or stainless steel which can be thermally treated or not.

In case the punch is made of a metal which I can be attacked by the foods, steel for example,

said punch must be provided with a resisting coating formed of a varnish, enamel or a neutral metal deposited on the surface such as silver, chromium, nickel, aluminum, tin and the like. This metal can bedeposited on the surface of the punch through spraying, electrolysis or by any other means.

By way of examples:

The punch can be made-of ordinary half-hard steel protected outwardly by chromin and internally by tinning.

The punch can also be made'of'half-hard .ordinary steelprotected externally by chroming and internally by a tube. of pure aluminum set in the punch, tube I3 .of Figure 2.

Always in case the punch is made of ordinary half-hard steel,. it can be protected externally and internally bytinning.

The supporting-guidea'is made of steel orof-a light alloy such as aluminum or of moulded material.

The washer III which forms a joint is made of plastic material or the like resisting to boiling water. It is set in a recess of the supporting guide 8.

The plug 12 can be made of metal or of a moulded material;

The above described apparatus is used in the following manner.

The apparatus is first brought to the above described first position: plug I2 screwed home and clamping. nut ll unscrewed in contact with the-edgepf theplug I2.

With the ,leftihand the apparatus is placed on a plane face of the tin which face has been preferably carefully cleaned, the washer Ill resting upon'said'face.

While maintaining the supporting-guide 8 with the left hand the palm of the right hand is placed upon the plug. I2, the nose 7 first cuts the metal sheet, then, the pressure being exerted further, the cutting edge of the terminal plate 6 cuts out in said sheet an opening the outline of which exactly corresponds to the outline of said plate 6.

After the cutting operation the punch has entered the tin, the terminal plate 6 being totally engaged therein. This movement of penetration is limited through the striking of the clamping nut I I, against the supporting guide 8 which rests itself upon the tin through the washer Ill.

The punch I is then turned around its own axis by a sufiicient angle in order that, after this rotation, the terminal plate 6 engaged inthe tin is no longer opposite the hole through which it had penetrated.

If the cross-section of the terminal plate 6 is rectangular the punch is turned by 90. If said cross-section is square the punch is turned by If the cross-section is triangular or offers three projections the punch is turned by In Figure 9 a cutting member 6 of triangular shape has been shown which is inserted below the edges of the opening through turning the punch l by around its axis XX.

Incrder to give the desired amplitude to said partial rotation one will use the mark of the plug I2 with respect to a mark of the supportingguide 8.

The punch I and the supporting-guide 8 being maintained in this position with respect to each other one will then act upon the clamping nut l I the turning of which will cause the return of the punch l the terminal plate 6 of which will come to rest against the edges of the opening in the tin. Through tightening one will obtain a strong and tight fastening of the apparatus on the tin; the wall of said tin being clamped between the washer I0 on the one hand, and the inner face of the terminal plate 6 brought nearer to each other by the screwing down of th nut II.

The apparatus being thus secured to the tin it is possible, at will, to take out a part of the content of said tin by unscrewing the plug I2 and pouring said content through the inner passage of the punch l as would be made with a bottle (Figure 7) The plug l2 having been placed in position again the vessel is hermetically closed till it is used again.

For disassembling the apparatus one proceeds in the reverse manner. One unscrews the nut II and brings it into contact with the plug I2 which has preliminarily been screwed home. The punch I is turned by a suitable angle with respect to the.

supporting guide while observing the marks, which brings the terminal plate opposite the opening in the tin. One can then take the punch out of the tin without any difiiculty.

The separately cleaned pieces can be sterilized with boiling water and then reassembled.

The apparatus is ready for being used again.

The above described apparatus offers numerous advantages and more particularly the following ones:

(1) The fastening on the tin is effected without any stress and without the user being likely to get wounded.

(2) Said fastening is tight and insures, in combination with the screwed plug l2, the possibility of maintaining the products sheltered from air and contamination agents. The good preservation of the content of the tin is thus insured.

(3) The taking out of the liquid is effected in a convenient manner and without any loss owing to the smooth cylindrical surface 2 of the upper part of the punch I, the poured product remaining on the edge of the tube can easily be wiped out without clogging the externally threaded part 3.

I claim:

In a can opener the combination of an integral element forming at the same time an opening punch and pouring spout for the contents of the can, a cutting element carried at the end of said integral element and whose contour presents projections, said cutting element being capable of penetrating into the can and by rotation engaging its projections under the edges of the opening through which it has penetrated into the can, a flange carried by said integral element and determining between itself and the cutting element a circular groove of an interior diameter at least equal to that of a circle inscribed in the contour of said cutting element which permits limiting the penetration of the cutting element into the can, a supporting guide sliding upon said integral element and having an interior bearing coming into contact with the edges of said flange carried by said integral element, a washer having a deformable diameter carried by the edge of the supporting guide and forming a tight joint therewith, said sliding guide having an enlarged lower edge forming a supporting base, an airtight joint located in said enlarged edge for forming a solid supporting base for supporting said guide upon the wall of the can, said integral element being guided particularly by its flange in said supporting guide, and a screw plug fitting into the pouring spout.

' RAYMOND E. COURAUD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 766,083 Watts July 26, 1904 1,309,167 Wyatt July 8, 1919 1,325,828 Becker-Jurgen et al. Dec. 23, 1919 1,485,579 Wyatt Mar. 4, 1924 1,826,838 Stump et a1 Oct. 13, 1931 2,172,293 Plasse Sept. 5, 1939 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 185,108 Great Britain Oct. 11, 1923 

